POLL: Massachusetts cities, states poised to lead on climate policy

THE ISSUE: Many state and municipal leaders say cities and states are poised to take the lead on climate policy.

THE CAUSE: President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he will withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement, an international accord intended to combat global climate change.

Gerry Tuoti Wicked Local Newsbank Editor

Leaders in several Massachusetts cities say local efforts to combat global climate change will now take on increased importance following President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement.

“Cambridge working alone to decrease our carbon footprint and commit to more environmentally sound policies would never be enough to have an appreciable positive impact in preserving our planet,” Cambridge Mayor E. Denise Simmons said Friday. “But Cambridge working in concert with cities like Boston, New York, Salt Lake City, Tallahassee, Orlando, Chicago, and the ever-growing list of communities across the nation can and will have a meaningful impact.”

Simmons issued a proclamation condemning Trump’s decision and affirming Cambridge’s commitment to work toward the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Trump on Thursday announced the United States would withdraw from the Paris Agreement, a non-binding international accord intended to reduce carbon emissions and limit global climate change. The 2015 agreement was born out of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Of the 197 nations involved in that convention, only Syria and Nicaragua declined to sign onto the agreement.

Countries participating in the Paris Agreement set their own energy goals. In signing on, President Barack Obama pledged to reduce U.S. carbon emissions by 26 to 28 percent by 2025.

Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll said the issue of climate change and its potential to raise sea levels are particularly concerning to coastal communities.

Salem already exceeds state requirements for the amount of electricity it gets from renewable sources. In recent years, the city has also fitted its municipal streetlights with efficient LED bulbs and installed solar panels on schools and municipal buildings. But regional coordination with other entities will be needed to make a significant impact, she said.

“We’re increasingly feeling more and more like we’re on our own and cannot rely on a strong federal partner,” Driscoll said.

Climate Mayors, a national group of 83 U.S. mayors representing nearly 40 million constituents, issued a statement Thursday pledging that its cities would “adopt, honor, and uphold the commitments to the goals enshrined in the Paris Agreement.” The group includes the mayors of Boston, Somerville and New Bedford.

New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Energy Committee, said that, ideally, climate policy should be led at the federal level.

“This is yet another area where cities and states have to jump in and fill the void left by the federal government,” he said.

New Bedford has the largest municipal fleet of electric cars in Massachusetts and the nation’s third-largest green energy municipal electric aggregation program. As of 2014, only Honolulu generated more solar energy per capita among U.S. cities. Embracing renewable energy, Mitchell said, has had economic and environmental benefits.

“Much of the effort to combat climate change has happened at the local level,” he said. “Cities are big consumers of electricity and have control over permitting of major businesses, including those that generate significant fossil fuel emissions. We certainly have a say.”

Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh said in a statement that Boston remains committed to limiting the effects of climate change.

“We are committed to addressing climate change head on and will accelerate Boston's efforts to become carbon neutral by 2050,” Walsh said. “Fighting climate change means fighting for all those affected by worsening air quality, extreme heat, eroding coastlines — issues that will continue to impact residents for generations to come.”

The federal role

In announcing his decision Thursday, Trump said complying with the Paris Agreement puts the United States at a competitive disadvantage and would cause a $3 trillion drop in the country’s gross domestic product by 2040 and 2.7 million lost jobs by 2025, statistics that come from one scenario in a study funded by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Council for Capital Formation, groups that both opposed the Paris accord. Some economists and environmentalists have criticized the report’s models as flawed.

Trump also claimed the Green Climate Fund, which was established under the Paris Agreement, could cost the United States “tens of billions of dollars.” The United States, one of 43 governments to commit money to the fund, has paid $1 billion out of the $3 billion it has pledged. The fund is intended to support climate change adaptation and mitigation projects in developing countries.

"The Paris Climate Accord is simply the latest example of Washington entering into an agreement that disadvantages the United States to the exclusive benefit of other countries, leaving American workers — who I love — and taxpayers to absorb the cost in terms of lost jobs, lower wages, shuttered factories, and vastly diminished economic production," Trump said in a speech Thursday.

Massachusetts joins other states

As many municipal leaders have called for intensifying their commitment to combating climate change, some state lawmakers and officials in Massachusetts have also called for state governments to lead on the issue.

Gov. Charlie Baker called Trump’s announcement “disappointing.”

“Massachusetts is aggressively working to exceed the goals of the Paris Agreement on the state level, while growing our economy through clean energy innovation and environmental stewardship,” he said in a statement. “In Massachusetts and around the world, climate change is a shared reality and our ability to rise and respond to this challenge will shape future generations.”

Baker announced Friday that Massachusetts will formally join the U.S. Climate Alliance, a group launched Thursday by the governors of California, Washington and New York.

“As the Commonwealth reiterates its commitment to exceed the emission reduction targets of the Paris Climate Agreement, today we join the U.S. Climate Alliance to expand on our efforts while partnering with other states to combat climate change,” he said. “After speaking with Governors Cuomo and Scott, our administration looks forward to continued, bipartisan collaboration with other states to protect the environment, grow the economy and deliver a brighter future to the next generation."

State Sen. Michael Barrett, D-Lexington, Senate chairman of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy, proposed a resolution calling for Massachusetts to work in collaboration with state and municipal governments to work toward the Obama Administration’s climate goals as outlined in the Paris Agreement.

He has also called for raising the price of using fossil fuels for transportation and heating, which he said would boost the use of renewable energy.

“What can Massachusetts really do to deliver on its part of the Paris agreement? Putting a price on the fossil fuel you use to get to the office today and the fuel you’re probably burning this week to keep the office warm,” he said.

State Sen. Marc Pacheco, D-Taunton, chairman of the Senate Committee on Global Warming and Climate Change, also called for states such as Massachusetts and California to lead the way on climate policy.

“If our federal government is unwilling to do what is right, if it is unwilling to honor its responsibilities to future generations, state governments will use our unique system of federalism to forge our own paths and organize for survival,” he said.